Fire extinguisher



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R. C. IDDINGS FlIRE EXTINGUISHER vFiled Feb. 13 1917 3 sheets-sheet 1 um mm Q m mm mm,

. mmm/H5 @et 21 SZQQ R. C. IDDINGS FIRE EXTINGUISHER Filed Feb. 13 1917 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 /NVENTOR ATTORNE Y.

@et m 1.9% 1,512,767 y R. C. IDDINGS FIRE LXTlNGUIsHER Filed Feb. 13 191? s sheets-Sheet 3u lF767.. Q.

/NVENTOR ATTORNEYJ Patented @et 21, 1924i..

ROSCOE C. IDDINGS, 0F DAYTON, OHIO,

mais? FTNT FFEQ.

ASSIGNOR TO FYR-FYTER COMPANY, 0F

BAYTON, OHIO, A. CORPORATION OF OHIO.

FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

Application tiled February 13, 1917.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, Roscoe C. IDDiNGs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dayton, county of Montgomery, and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and use- .ful improvements in Fire Extinguishers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in tire extinguishers and is in particular an improvement on the fire extinguisher illustrated and described in application Serial No. 137,560, filed December 18, 1916, by -T. M. Dunlap. In their present embodiment my improvements form part of aiire extinguisher which is in general similar to that disclosed in the above mentioned application and the purpose of my improvements is to render devices of the kind more simple and inexpensive in construction; to eliminate certain requirements in operation, sothat evenin the excitement usually attending the which might disable the device.

- the pump, taken oir-the line JE-4 of Fig. `3.

operation of such devices no delayfmayba caused by the operator forgetting just howjto operate it; by eliminating certain exterior parts and providing protection for" others, thereby reducing -the danger of damage In the drawing forming a part of this specification, and wherein the preferred embodiment is illustrated, Figure l is a longitudinal central section of an extinguisher embodying the invention.

Fig. 1Ay shows a fragment of Fig. 1,.somewhat enlarged, the parts being shown in elevation instead of section.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation 'of the extinguisher.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged. detail section illustrating more particularly parts of theair pump. y s y A- Fig. 4. is an enlarged transverse section o f Fig. 5 isa sectional view similar to Fig.; but taken in a different plane to more'clearly illustrate one of the valvesand the means byv e another ball check valve 33 with which covdischarge of the liguid.

Serial No. 148,309.A

Fig. l9 -is a view similar to Fig. 8 but-taken. at right angles thereto, on line 9 9, Fig. 6. Fig. 10 is a transverse sectional view of the valve casing, taken o-n'the line 10-10 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 11 is a broken, detailsectional View taken on the line ll-llvof Fig. 2.

Fig. 12 is an elevational view of parts illustrated in Fig. 11, looking from the right of the latter. "i"

Fig.l 13 is a detail-sectional view taken substantially oir the line 13-13 of Fig. l1; an V Fig. 14. isa detail perspective of one of the parts employed in the valve mechanism.

In said drawing, 2O denotes a container for the lire extinguishing liquid and various operating parts, the container being shown as of cylindrical form. Within said container Vis located the air pump device designated generally by the reference A; valve controlling mechanism designated generally bythe reference B; and intake tubes or pipes fdesignated generally by the reference C.

'saidtube or cylinder 21 being closed at its inner end by a plug 23, the latter having an extension 24 centrally recessed to receive a perforated, threaded nut 25 for retaining a ball check. valve ,26 and spring 27 controlling the position of the'ball.

-Slidably mounted within the tubular cylinder'21 is a hollow piston rnd 28 having secured thereto, at its inner end, a piston 29 to which is secured an outer, cup-shaped leather'washer 30, the washer being kept in tight engagement -with the cylinder by means of an annularcoiled spring 31 seated in a suitable annular -recess formedin :fthe piston 29.- The piston 29 is centrallyy 1, .perforated as indicated at 32 so as to commu'- lnicate with the interior of the piston rod 28,

andmounted within said perforation 32 is inner end, is a packing ring 38 against Whichthe disc 35 is adapted to bear when the piston is in its innermost position, to thereby seal the passageway between the interior of the cylinder 2l and the interior of the container. The piston rod 28 is extended' through a boss 39 on the end casting 22 and at its outer end carries the operating handle 40. It will also be noted from an inspection of Fig. l that the piston rod 28 is provided with a pair of openings 4l,- 42 for the purpose hereinafter described.

'As will be apparent from the preceding description, upon outward movement of the operating handle, the check valve 26 will remain closed and air will pass through either of the openings 41 or 42 through the hollow piston rod 28 and to the underside of the piston through the check valve 33. Upon forcing the piston inwardly, the check valve 33 will be automatically closed and air will be forced through the passageway in the plug 23 past the check valve 26, and thus into the container 20, thereby storing compressed air in the container for the purpose of forcing out the liquid, as hereinafter described.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. l, 5, 8, 9, 10 and 14, the valve mechanism for controlling the intake and discharge of the liquid from the container is shown as comprising apreferably die pressed casing 43 soldered or otherwise 'secured to the pump cylinder 21 and located near the center of the container. The casing 43 is lprovided with valve chambers 44-44 at the ends thereof' and a larger centralVv chamber 45. The chambers 44-44 are separated from the central chamber 45 by partitions 46-46. Mounted Within each chamber 44 is a valve 48 having a stem 49 which extends through an opening 47 in the partition 46, it being understood that the stem is adapted to slide in said openings,'the walls of which are grooved, as in Fi 10. In Figs. 8 and 9, theright hand vae 48 is shown as seated on its seat andthe left handvalve 48 is shown in open position. Each of the valve chambers 44 is closed at its outer end by means of a sheet metal plate 50, secured tothe casing 43. Each of the valve stems -49 is provided with an annular groove 51, over which is seated one of the forked ends 52 of a connector 53, the latter being shown in detail in Fig. :14. By means of the connector 53 the valves 48 are operated `in unison and are held in such relation to each other that as one valve 48` assumes a. closed position the other is moved to open position. In order to render the operation of the valves 48 more sensitive a heavy ball 54, preferably of lead, is loosely mounted within 'the casing 43 and between the forked ends of ball resting on the connector might create is thus prevented and the ball is consequently more effective to actuate the valves.

From the preceding description, it will be seen that as the fire extinguisher is tilted from thehorizontal, the ball 54 will roll to the lowermost position in the chamber 45 and thereby open the then lower yalve 48 and cause the then upper valve 48 to close. Upon the extinguisher being tilted with its other end up, the ball will roll tothe opposite end of thechamber 45 and reverse the positions of the valves 48.

In order to discharge the liquid from the container when air pressure is created therewithin, the flexible intake tubes C-C are provided, each of which has its inner end connected to one end of the casing 43. Each tube C is preferably flexible throughout and air-tight. At its outer or free end, each tube C has attached theretoan intake mouth or member 55, made preferably of some heavy material such as lead or the like. take member 55 is provided'with a central passageway 56 communicating with the flexible tube C and attached to each member 55 is one or more rings 57 of felt or other suitable soft material, the latter being employed to prevent the heavy mouth piece-from denting the casing 2O and also to eliminate noise or rattle. As clearly appears from Figures l and 5 the inner ends of the tubes C are se- Each incured to the casing 43 substantially in line with the axis of the container 20 so that, as

the container isI rotated, the mouth pieces 55 will follow the contour of the container and ,automatically maintain A themselves in the lowermost position within the container to thus insure complete discharge of the liquid'regardless of the position of theextingui-Sher.

Each of the tubes C is communication with a valve. chamber 44 so that, depending p Mounted within said chamber 60 (see Fig..

5) i's a discharge controlling valve 62 secured to the inner end of a rod 63, the latter being extended to the exterior of the container through a packing gland 64. Mounted on the rod 63 isa spring65, which bears atene end against said valve62 and at its other end against shoulder 66. Communicating with the chamber 60 is an outlet v67 that in turn communicates with the discharge pipe68, the latter having a discharge nozzle 69 at the end of the container 20. The valve 62 is shown in Fig. 5 in its normal position and bears against a packing ring '62a to seal the outlet passage 67. This ring is made of some yielding substance, cork for example, and is made rather thick, for a reason to be hereinafter referred to.`

The position of the valve 62, which I also.

call the sealing valve, is controlled by the operating handle 40the latter being provided with a cam groove having the oppositely arranged portions 70-7() and the central portion 7l, with which engages a knob 72 secured to the outer end or" the rod 63. When the handle is in the position shown 'in Figs. 5 and l1,.the knob 72 rests on the high point 71 of the cam groove; the valve'62v is thereby held in closed position. By turning the operatin handle 40 in either direction, the knob 2 is either forced inwardly or moves inwardly under the influence of the spring 65, thereby opening communication between the pipe 59 and passageway 67. The valve 62 is maintained in this open position by means of the spring 65. In order to prevent the handle 40 from being pulled out when it is in engagement with the knob 72, the handle is provided with a short inwardly extending flange 73 which engages under a ,lange 74 which extends laterally fromthe boss 39 on the end 22 of the container. These flanges keep the disk 35 firmly seated on the packing ring 38. This ring is composed of some yielding substance, corkffor example, and t earts are so proportioned that when flange 3 is under Illa-nge 74 the vpacking ring 38 will be somewhat compressed, thus insuring a good seal. The ends of flange 73 are beveled as at 73, Figs. l and 1A, so as to cam the piston inward as .it is locked in closed position and press Athe disk 35 against the packing ring 38. As the handle 40 is rotated to disengage the knobv72 the ila-nge 73 will also be disengaged-from the flange 74, whereupon the handle with the piston secured thereto may be reciprocated to force air into the container. The portion 7l of the cam groove 70-70 is slightly depressed (see Fig. 12) and when this depression comes under the knob 72 the knob falls into it and acts as a sort of friction lock, tend'- ing to prevent the handle from rotating. The packing ring 62a, against which valve i 62 bears, is thick enough to yield a considerable distance. This permits of enough compression so that when the knob 72 drops into the depression 7l, part of the compression of the packing ring being thereby lost, there remains enough compression to make a tight seal. y

The container may be filled by removing the threaded plug 75, a soft metal washer 76 being preferably interposed between the head of the plug and the end wall 22.

F rom the preceding description, it will be seen that so long as the operating handle remains in its normal or inoperative position, communication between the outside of the container and the interior is prevented by the valve 62 and the seal formed between the disc 35 and packing ring 38. Less perfection is therefore required in the checkvalve 26. l/Vhenever it is desired to use the extinguisher, all that'is necessary .for the operator to do is to turn the handle 40 in either direction and then reciprocate the same, thus creating the pressure within thc container. pressurev instead of by the direct action of the pump a continuous stream is thrown from the nozzle as long as there issufficient air pressure. If desired the operator may hold his finger over the nozzle and pump a considerable pressure, then by locking the handle in its inward position retain this pressure. He can then carry the extinguisher to a place where he wishes to use it, which may be where it would be inconvenient to operate the pump, and by simply turning the handle the liquid will be expelled by the pressure without operating the pump; AThe pump handle being unlocked by rotation in either direction practically eliminates the possibility of delay through confusion of the operator in the excitement almost certain to attend the use of the device. The parts are so proportioned that opening of the valve 62 occurs while the flange 73 on the handle is still confined under the flange 74, so that the seal between the disk 35 and packing ring 38 is maintained while the contents of the container is being expelled by air pressure previously pumped up. By turning the handle to the right or left a steady stream can be played on a lire, the

strength of the stream being controllable by turning the handle more or less. By means ot the flexible intake tubes C, the mouth of at least one of the latter will always be in the lower most position of the container andl will automatically shift its position under the influence of gravity, no mattei' to what position the container is shifted. The parts are of simple construction and may be assembled on the end member 22 before the latter is secured to the container, with the exception of the nozzle 69 which can easily be applied after all the other parts are in position. Forming the boss which supports the pump cylinder, and the valve chamber 6l integral with the end member 22 materially strengthens and simplifies the structure and reduces to the minimum the chances forr trouble from leakyv or loose joints. It. also makes possible a lighter conof the extinguisher materially. The'handle As the fluid is expelled by air 40, particularly thepart thereof which con- Y tains the grooves 70-7Q, affords a considerable measure of protection for the valve stem 63 and knob 72; then when the handle is unlocked the valve moves inward and leaves'nothing but the knob exposed, which is still considerably protected by the piston. As these are the only external parts of the mechanism, the danger of mechanical injury to the device is very slight.

To prevent tampering with the extinguisher the several operative parts may be secured by a light wire secured by a seal. This is illustrated in Fig. 2 where the wire 80 is threaded through an aperture 81 in the plug 75 (see Fig. l), through an aperture 82 in the knob 72 and an aperture 83 in the handle 40' (see Figs. 5 and 11). The wire may be light enough to be easily broken by anyone needing to use the extin-v guisher, and until broken it furnishes evidence that the extinguisher has not been tampered with.

Although the device herein shown and described Ain detail is considered the preferred embodiment of the invention, the same is merely illustrative and all changes and modifications are contemplated that comewithin the scope of the claims appended hereto.

What I claim is as follows:

1. In a device of the character described, comprising a container, a pump and a valve,

in combination; means for locking the pump ston to prevent longitudinal movement, said means being operable tp unlock the piston by rotating the piston 1n either f direction," and means for operating the valve by said rotation of the piston, whichever direction it is rotated.

2. In a device of the` character described,

comprising a container and a pump, means for locking the pump piston to prevent lon itudinal movement in one direction, sai means being operable to unlock the piston by rotating the piston in either direction, and means whereby the piston is forced longitudinally a slight distance in the opposite direction by the act of locking it.

3. In a device of the character described, comprising a container, a pump and a valve, the piston rod of the pump and the valve stem being the only exposed operative parts, in combination; a handle attached to the piston rod whereby it is reciprocated, and means integral with the handle for operating the valve when the handle is rotated.

4.v In a device of the character described, a container, a pump therein, the piston rod of which extends to the exterior, a reciprocating valve, the stem of which extends to the exterior and carries a knob, vand Va handle carried by the piston rod having a cam adapte'd to engage said knob and operate the valve. y

5. In a device of the -characterV described, a container, a pump therein, the piston rod of which extendsto the exterior, a reciproeating valve, the stem of which extends to imager the exterior and carries a lmob, and a handle carried by the piston rod of the pump having a cam adapted to engage said knob and operate vthe valve, the highest part of said cam having a slight depression which receives the knob and tends 113o-oppose movement of the handle.

6. In a device of the character described, a container, a pump adapted to store air under pressure in the container, a port in the end of the pump cylinder, a packing ring composed of yielding substance surrounding said port, a valve member carried by the pump piston and adapted to co-opcrate with said ring to cut off communication between the pump cylinder and the interior of the container, means for holding said valve member against the ring when the pump .is not in operation; said means being operable by rotatingA the handle; a discharge nozzle, a valve to control the dis- 'charge therefrom and means whereby said valve is opened or closed by rotating the handle, said opening and closing being timed to occur while said valve member is in engagement with said ring.

7 In a device of the" character described, a container, an outlet therefor, a pump for expelling lthe contents from the container,

a iiexible intake pipe connected to the outlet, one end of the pipe being free to seek its own position in response to gravity, the end thereof-being weighted to make its selfadjustment more positive, and a cushion of felt or otherisoft substance surrounding said weighted end to prevent. noise and injury to other parts of the device.

8. In a device of the character described, a container, two intake pipes, a discharge pipe common to both intake pipes, and

avity valve mechanism adapted to cut one or the other of the intake pipes off from the discharge pipe; said mechanism comprising a valve for each intake pipe, a member connecting said-valves so that they move in unison, and a weight adapted to roll by gravity intocontact with one or the other of said valves and operate it, said connecting member operating the other valve simultaneously but conversely, and means for isolatingY the weight from the connecting the friction of the connector and thus impede its movement..A

member Vso that its weight shall not, add to 9. In a device of the character described, i

a container, a receiving chamber-within the container, two intake pipes connected to said chamber, a gravity valve adapted -to cut oit each pipe, a connector 'whereby said valves are connected and' made to operate in unison, said connector being arranged to slide-in a channel formed in one side of the chamber, and a ball oonned in the chamber and adapted to roll against and operate one or the other of the va1ves,the connector operating the other valve simultaneously but conversely, the ball being prevented from resting on the connector by the latter being in the channel. 1

10. In a device of the character described, a container, a pump therein, the piston rod of which extends to the exterior, a reciprocating valve, the stem ofwhich extends to the exterior and carries a knob, and ahandle carried by the piston rodof the pump having a cam adapted to engage said knob and operate the vave, the highest4 part of said cam having a siight depression Which re- .ceives the knob and tends to oppose move` ment of the handle, said valve comprising a compressible valve seat having suiieient range of compression and resiliency to 'pen mit the highest part of' the cam to pass the knob and yet insure a. tight closure when the knob rests in the depression.

In testimony whereof I atlix my signa.- ture in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

ROSCOE C. IDDINGS. Witnesses:

F. K. FAssETT, D. W. Fool. 

